Shionogi: breaking the mould

Instead of focusing purely on newer treatments, Shionogi has decided to revert to older therapies; much to the annoyance of their investors.

The strategy was seen to be a backward step, however, Shionogi's CEO Teshirogi is reaping the benefits from this bold move. The success of Crestor being the main example of this.

This is a refreshing approach from the Japanese pharma. What this creates is a good balance in the industry in terms of revisiting older treatments and discovering new therapies. The scales may still be very much tipped heavily by the new treatments but the Shionogi move may have started a new trend.

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For most drugmakers, it pays to focus on high-priced drugs in new treatment areas. But Japan’s Shionogi is counting on the opposite.
Shionogi CEO Isao Teshirogi told Bloomberg that the company, which helped develop blockbuster cholesterol med Crestor, will buck the industry trend and focus instead on making less complex treatments such as antibiotics. The company plans to double its revenue over the next 5 years using this strategy.
Shionogi’s sales forecast for the year ending March 2016 is ¥301.5 billion ($2.8 billion). The drugmaker expects this to increase to ¥500 billion ($4.6 billion) for the year ending in March 2021. And its internal target for the same time frame is ¥600 billion, Teshirogi said.